Lewis Hamilton has been left 'angry' and 'perplexed' by one decision Mercedes made during the Singapore GP where Hamilton saw himself slip from third on the grid to a sixth-placed finish.
Lando Norris won the Singapore in dominant fashion despite getting a little bit close for comfort with the walls, with Max Verstappen completing his damage limitation job by coming home in second.
However, it was a disastrous grand prix for the man who lined up behind the leading two, as Hamilton saw Oscar Piastri, Charles Leclerc, and his teammate George Russell come past him in the race.
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Hamilton was the outlier at the front of the grid as he started the race on the soft tires while those around him opted for the medium.
This decision meant Hamilton had to pit significantly earlier than his competitors, meaning he was essentially hung out to dry in the later stages of the race against cars with much faster tires.
Speaking at a Petronas event following the race, Hamilton pulled no punches as he slammed Mercedes' strategy all while sitting next to Russell.
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“The night before they had already mentioned they would like to split the cars, I was a bit perplexed by it," he explained.
Hamilton has been convincingly beaten 13-5 by Russell in qualifying so far in 2024, so the fact the 39-year-old was actually ahead of his teammate on the grid made the decision even more baffling.
"I understand if George [Russell] has qualified well and I didn't get in Q3 or something, but we were so close, it didn’t make sense to me.
"I battled as hard as I could to fight to go on the medium tire but the team continued to suggest that I start on the soft and when they took the tyre blankets off, everyone was on mediums… I was so angry," he added.
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Hamilton now heads into his final six races as a Mercedes after announcing a shock switch to Ferrari in February.
Mercedes will replace Hamilton with 18-year-old Kimi Antonelli after missing out on an ambitious move for Verstappen.
Topics: Formula 1, Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, Lando Norris, Max Verstappen, Ferrari
Tom Jenkins